Man arrested for arson in Lincoln County

Investigators say Patrick Cook started two fires at homes within a mile of each other, in Lincoln County.

They say Monday morning he came to this home and set it on fire while a woman was sleeping inside.

That woman told police that when the man who lived there began trying to put the fire out Cook swung a large blade at him to try to stop him. They say he then ran into the woods before police arrived.

Cook is charged in this case but the sheriff tells WKYT he also a suspect in another fire from last Wednesday when a home not far from here burned to the ground. The sister of the victim in this fire tells us that home belonged to Cook's mother and stepfather. She says it was a relief when he was arrested.

"It was a relief. He's not right in the head, and we think he would've come back to finish the job," said Roseanna Phinney, the victim's sister.

Phinney says her brother had been rebuilding this home that they grew up in, but after the inside were destroyed by that fire he's going to have to start all over.

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